tribe creative arts magazine issue 7

tribe INTERNATIONAL C REATIVE A RTS M AGAZINE

2009

Editor in Chief Mark Doyle Editor Ali Donkin Associate Editor Tilly Craig

WELCOME TO ISSUE 7

Editorial Director Peter Davey

I’m a self-­‐employed and a self-­‐taught arDst. When I seriously started painDng in 2009 -­‐ it would be fair to say that I regarded myself as an amateur. I sDll do.

Marketing Director Steve Clement-­‐ Large

It’s one of those words that has been mangled and misunderstood over a long Dme. At its heart is the French meaning -­‐ “a lover of. “

Contributors Bael, Claire Johnston, Instant Hutong, Alejandro Arbinaga, Casajordi, Gordon Livingston, Georgio Bormida, Hamed Dehnavi, Neil Craver, Tim Mills, Tom Adams, Becky Dodman, J Freedman

People who need to create art – in whatever form and at whatever level of skill are amateurs. As an untutored arDst I feel a real kindred spirit with those who produce folk-­‐art, street art or outsider art. They are those who, like me, feel an urge to create images for their own sake. I try to sell my work – someDmes I am lucky enough to do that – I’ve even had a public art commission. Whatever happens I will conDnue to create work. I cannot imagine stopping.

Cover Becky Dodman

So what of professional arDsts ?

Inner spread Tom Adams, Concept image from ‘Flash Gordon’ Photography Peter Davey, Mark Doyle Contact To submit work: tribesubmit@gmail.com To say hello: tribequery@gmail.com Full submission details can be found on our website: www.tribemagazine.org

Well to the taxman that’s what I am – it’s what it says on my tax forms.

To a lot of people, the fact that I have never crossed the threshold of a formal art school rules me out of that definiDon. That does not worry me, (to be frank, not much does). It is one the reasons why I got involved with and love tribe magazine. We are “for creaDvity” and I can guarantee that is absolutely the case. We collecDvely look at submissions on their merit – irrespecDve of whether or not the arDst has been to Goldsmiths for three years and is exhibiDng in Berlin; or has spent 20 years buying their paints from a high-­‐street staDoners, sDck their work in a spare-­‐room and finally pluck up courage to let others see it.

I love arDsts and I love art. What I feel uncomfortable with is an arDficial disDncDon between those with a qualificaDon and those without. To me there really is none. Work moves me or it doesn’t. However -­‐ one thing that I do like to see is a professional arDst who is clearly an amateur.

Steve Clement-­‐Large

tribe is produced in Plymouth, UK

Marketing Director

Artists have given permission for their work to be displayed in tribe magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder(s)

(C) 2012 Trico Creative CIC company no 7982933

4

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSN 2050 -­‐ 2352

bael page 6 claire johnston page 12 alejandro arbinaga page 20 instant hutong page 22 gordon livingstone page 44 ali donkin: hogarth page 48 giorgio bormida page 52 tim mills page 56 hamed dehnavi page 60 tom adams page 64 casajordi bousquet page 82 becky dodman page 86 neil craver page 96 j freedman page 106 ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

5

6

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

7

8

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

9

10

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Bael

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

11

12

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

CLAIRE JOHNSTON

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

13

14

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

15

16

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

17

18

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE 19 clairefjohnston.blogspot.co.uk

20

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Alejandro Arbinaga

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

21

22

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

I N S TA N T HUTONG M a r c e l l a C a m p a a n d S t e fa n o Av e s a n i , c o l l e c t i v e l y known as Instant Hutong, are an Italian architect duo living in China, who have based their work in t h e e v e r c h a n g i n g c i t y c o m p l e x e s o f C h i n a ’s u r b a n s p r a w l a n d r u r a l e x p a n s e . Tr i b e f o u n d o u t more about creating interesting contemporary art within a community a long way from home.

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

23

Yo u r c u r re nt wo rk re vol ve s around urban density and change, has th is f asc in atio n sp ru n g f ro m livin g in C h in a o r was th ere a mo ve to C h in a to stu d y th e su bjec t?

We c ons ide r our wor k as a s e t of ac t ivi t ie s and ac t ions aime d t o e xplore t he s pa c e a ro und us . We w e re l iv ing in Ve nic e fo r s e ve ra l ye a r s a nd w e w e re probably t he re fore fas c inat e d by de ns i ty and de ns e c i t ie s . D e ns i ty and c hange are t he t w o main c harac t e r is t ic s o f Chine s e c o nt e mpo rar y c i ty and w e s e e t he t w o c o nc e pt s a s a pre t e x t t o e x plo re t he re la t io ns hip be t w e e n t he bui l t e nvironme nt and t he loc al l i fe - s tyle . D e ns i ty doe s n’ t dire c t ly de f ine t he way you l ive in a c i ty, but you c an re c ognis e t hat many as pe c t s of t he c o mmuni ty dai ly l i fe are inf lue nc e d by i t . Talk ing abo ut t he H ut o ng dis t r ic t s o f o ld B e ij ing , t hey are n o t o n ly dense in t erms of bui l t s pac es , but als o a n d e s pe c ial ly in t e r ms o f e x pe r ie nc e s , human re lat io ns hips , po s s ibi l i t ie s o f une x pe c t e d e nc ount e r s and t his is t he as pe c t t hat always fas c inat e d us t he mos t .

T h e d emo litio n o f th e H u to n g s mu st be a d eep ly p erso n al su bjec t f o r man y C h in ese p eo p le. As artists f ro m an o th er c o u n try d o yo u ever

24

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Urban Carpet

rec eive an imo sity f ro m th e lo c als f o r ex p lo rin g th e su bjec t, o r are th ey h ap p y th at yo u are c reatin g wo rk reac tin g to th e issu es in th eir area?

We t r y t o c re at e ope n and publ ic mome nt s of re f le c t ion on how dai ly l i tt le aspe c t s in t he ne ighbour hood have c hange d: house s, st re e t s, habi t s, re lat io ns hips w i t h ne ighbo ur s … F ir s t re ac t io ns t o t his fo r m o f s po nt ane o us happe ning are us ual ly s ur pr is e and c ur ios i ty. As s oon as pe ople re al is e t hat w e a re t a lk ing a bo ut t he ir s ur ro undings , t he y a re ple a s e d t o pa r t ic ipa t e , t e l l ing us s t or ie s about t he dis t r ic t , pin point ing fami l iar al le ys on t he map and c al l ing out ne ighbour s t o join t he gat he r ing.

Y o u men tio n th at th e relatio n sh ip between p eo p le an d th e wo rk being imp ortant to you and the c onc ep t of Mic ro-urbanism I n terac tio n s bein g key in yo u r wo rk, u sin g u rban areas as a stag e with p eo p le' s reac tio n s bein g th e “ main even t” . Wh y is it so imp ortant to ex hibit work within the urban area rather than a g allery sp ac e?

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

25

26

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

27

H o w d o yo u f eel p e o p l e' s reac ti o n s i n f o rm yo ur wo rk?

S t a r t ing p o int o f o ur w o r k wa s t o e s t a b l is h t his k in d of sh ared n arrat ive b et ween us and t he inhabi t ant s o f t he c i ty. T he f ir s t t ime w e w e re aske d t o show our wor k in some gal le r y we we re t r uly s ur pr is e d, be c aus e w e c ons ide re d t he obje c t s w e c re a t e a s t o o ls t o a c t iva t e s i t ua t io ns o f e xc hange and no t as t he f inal re s ul t o f an ar t prac t ic e . In an ur ban s t r uc t ure s uc h as t he one of B e ijing’s H ut o ngs , m a de o f a de ns e t is s ue o f c o ur t ho us e s fac ing a maze o f nar ro w lane s , t he s t re e t wa s t he na t ura l s t a ge fo r o ur pro je c t s , be c aus e t he s t re e t is t he plac e w he re pe ople me e t e ac h o t he r une x pe c t e dly.

Af ter wo rkin g in th e H u to n g s wh at d o yo u f eel th e C h in ese attitu d e to ward s th em is? Are th ey p leased to see th e d evelo p men t o r are th ey treasu red as p art o f th eir h eritag e? ( I was lu c ky en o u g h to be in Beijin g in 2008 ju st bef ore the Olymp ic s and stayed in a Hutong . A c o u p le o f blo c ks d o wn o n e street was bein g kn o c ked d o wn to be rep lac ed with a “ D isn ey style” to u rist versio n !)

H ut o ng’s c o ur t ho us e s a re no t s lums , t he y w e re bui l t acc ording t o t he highe s t re s ide nt ial s t andards dur ing t he las t t w o dynas t ie s of t he Chine s e e mpire . S pac e s me ant unt i l 70 ye ar s ago fo r o ne large and r ic h fami ly, w e re t he n div ide d fo r s e ve ral nuc le i, proving a high de gre e of f le x ibi l i ty and adapt at ion’s c apabi l i ty t o di ffe re nt soc ial c ont e xt s and l i fe -style s. B e c ause of t his and be c ause of t he fa c t t ha t m a ny p e o p le l ive t he re w i t ho ut a ny s e c ur i ty o f t e nure , ma ny ho us e s fa c e t o day s t r uc t ura l a nd fa c i l i ty pro ble ms . S e ve ra l pe o ple w o uld l ike t o have a la rge r a nd m o de r n ho us e , but t he major i ty of t he m w ould ne ve r re nounc e t o t he ir old h o us e and t h e l i fe- lo n g relat ions hips, habi t s and fr ie ndships from t he ne ighbour hood. Af t e r fe w ye a r s o f e x t e ns ive d e m o l i t io ns , a ne w c o ns c io us ne s s is e ve nt ual ly rais ing up, c o ns ide r ing t he old dis t r ic t s a value , rat he r t han a proble m.

S ay ing t ha t , w e fe e l s o m e t im e s a s o r t o f mis unde r s t anding t owards our wor k. Through i t we are not in fac t promot ing an approac h of t o t al

28

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

29

30

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

pre s e r vat ion for t he old bui ldings , but w e are int e re s t e d in t his ide a o f s o c ial s us t ainabi l i ty, w hic h w e fe e l yo u c a n f ind no w in t he H ut o ngs but i t m ay be at r is k t o vanis h, along w i t h t he de mol i t ion of t he old hous e s .

I n yo u r p ro jec t, Urban C arp et, yo u u se a tec h n iq u e o f sewin g o n to f abric remin isc en t o f ad d itio n s mad e to f abric in c o mmu n ist p o sters. I n yo u r n ew wo rk B lin kin g C ity, wh ic h c o n c en trates o n th e sp eed o f u rban c h an g e, yo u in vo lve mo re tec h n o lo g ic al ap p aratu s. I s yo u r u se o f o ld an d n ew tec h n iq u es a ref eren c e to th e o ld an d n ew C h in a? H as u sin g n ew tec h n o lo g ies in yo u r wo rk c h an g ed h o w th e p u blic in terac t with it?

We did t he Ur ban Car pe t wi t h t he ide a t o br ing maps of di ffe re nt ne ighbour hoods t o t he s t re e t s , s ho w t he m t o pe o ple a nd s t a r t t a lk ing a bo ut t he c i ty. T he re fo re w e w e re lo o k ing fo r a dis play me dia w hic h c o uld be lo ng t o t he lo c a l c ul t ure a nd t radi t ion, and w e found i t in t his e mbroide r y t e c hnique us e d by t he c ommunis t par ty in t he s e ve nt ie s . for the embroidery technique used for the Urban Carpets, We asked an old lady who used to do them in the seventies to teach us how to embroider... we basically did them together. B l ink ing Ci ty pro je c t s t a r t s fro m t he c o ns ide rat io ns t hat maps are unable t o de s c r ibe c i ty c harac t e r is e d by fas t pac e de ve lo pme nt .

Therefore we w ere looking for som e m edia whic h c o uld be tt e r e x pre s s t he s e rapid c hange s . T he proje c t is made of di ffe re nt par t s , w e us e d s t e nc i l ar t on di lapidat e d wal ls of abandone d house s, digi t al pr int ing on le nt ic ular pane ls t hat var y acc ording t o t he move me nt s of vie we r s and vide o animat ions.

I n 120 K m yo u tu rn yo u r atten tio n to th e c o u n trysid e. Wh y th e c h an g e f ro m th e Urban su rro u n d in g s o f yo u r p revio u s p ro jec ts?

120 KM proje c t is an inve st igat ion on t he Chine se

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

31

32

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

33

34

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Blinking City

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

35

c o nt e mpo rar y c o unt r y s ide af t e r t he de ve lo pme nt s e t in mo t io n s inc e t he la s t F ive -Ye a r P la n w hic h is c hanging radic al ly s e c ular t radi t io ns , w i t h an invas io n o f ur ban pro duc t s t o t he c o unt r y s ide and an ove r lapping of ne w c onsume r ist ur ban mode ls o n t he t rad i t io nal rural c ul t ure . We decided t o c ros s t he t e r r i t or y of r ural provinc e s of H e be i and S ha nd o ng , t he t e r r i t o r ia l s t r uc t ure o f w hic h is a t e x t ure made of a f ine dus t fragme nt at ion of t radi t ional vi l lage s and mode r n infras t r uc t ure s , not o nly reg ist er in g an d des cr ibing what we obs erved, but als o involving t he vi l lage r s in a s e r ie s of ac t ivi t ie s t o share t he ir pe rc e pt ion of c hange s. We do t hat us ing t he ac t ual maps of t he vi l lage s , as w e did in t he w or k c al le d CUN , or involving t he far me r s in c re at ing s o me pro je c t alo ng t he 120 KM lo ng pat h, as w e did for t he PAG LION I (" large s t raw mat s " , in It al ian). Eac h ye ar in aut umn far me r s us e d t o produc e s t raw mat s from t he s c raps of t he har ve s t , w hic h w i l l be t he n us e d t o prot e c t t he hot hous e s dur ing t he w int e r from fre e z ing at night .

We s l ippe d in t he middle of t his t radi t ional produc t ive proc e s s adding c olour s t o t he m and c re at ing s pe c ial pie c e s , w hic h be s ide t he func t io nal us e , c ould als o t ake away a bi t of gre y from t he e nv iro nme nt aro und.

D o yo u see yo u r wo rk as o vertly p o litic al? D o yo u think it takes a c ertain p o int- o f - view o n reg en eratio n o r is it' s main ro le to d o c u men t o r rai se q u esti o n s?

Each of o ur w or k refer s t o a speci f ic t opic of l iving in t he c i ty, at t he s ame t ime , w e w o uld l ike t o s ugge s t a di ffe re nt way t o lo o k a t t ha t s pe c i f ic t opic . In t his s e ns e w e gue s s you c an s ay i t 's pol i t ic al, in t hat t he aim is t o s ho w ne w pe r s pe c t ive s and pos s ibi l i t ie s about our l iving in t he c i ty, s l ight ly di ffe re nt t han t he give n one s . Too many ur ban re lat ions hips are more and more de t e r minat e by c omme rc ial pe r s pe c t ive s . That 's probably t he re as on w hy us ing t he publ ic s pac e of t he c i ty as a s or t of w or ks hop, a t e r rain of fre e pos s ible re lat ions hips on w hic h t o e xplore ne w

36

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Blinking City

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

37

Identity

way s t o s t ay t o ge t he r, is t o day c o ns ide re d a s a fo r m o f c r i t ic is m.

As artists wh o se wo rk o f ten in vo lves th e p u blic , is d isp layed in p u blic sp ac es an d d eals with issu es an d o bjec ts very p erso n al to th em, h o w imp o rtan t d o yo u f eel it is f o r c o n temp o rary art in g eneral to eng ag e with the p ublic on that p erson level, or is th at in terac tio n so meth in g yo u valu e as in teg ral to th e n atu re o f yo u r wo rk an d su b j ec t i n p arti c u l ar?

We t hink t hat ar t is about de al ing wi t h your s ur roundings . For us , i t wa s a me a n t o e x plo re t he c i ty w he re w e l ive a nd a way t o e s t a bl is h e xc hange s w i t h i t s inhabi t ant s , s o me t ime s t r y ing t o inc re as e t he s e ns e o f c i t ize ns hip a nd be lo nging t o t he c o mmuni ty o r may be e ve n improv ing t he ac t ive par t ic ipat io n o f lo c al pe o ple t o t he c i ty c hange s , he re in China de c ide d from above and happe ning around t he m. We do not c ons ide r our w or ks as a s e t of inde pe nde nt obje c t s , but w e s e e t he m always in t he re lat ions hips t he y c an ac t ivat e around t he m w he n plac e d in an ur ban c ont e xt . We do l ike t his as pe c t of t he c i ty, t o ge t ou t of you r d oor st ep an d b e awake t hat any pos s ible advent ure c ould c o me . Our w o r k s are a me ans t o s e e k fo r t his k ind o f une x pe c t e d adve nt ure s. The s e mome nt s r ic h of me aning, in w hic h t o int e ns i fy t he v i t a l p rod uct ivi ty o f ever yd ayness , are t he ones t hat make a t ruly v ib ra n t a nd int eres t ing ci ty l i fe.

Int e r v ie w : Al i D o nk in

38

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Other projects by Instant Hutong

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

39

40

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

120 KM ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

41

42

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Find out more at: ins t ant hut o ng.c o m ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

43

21

44

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

City Life

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

45

City

46

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Buildings Gordon  Livingston

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

47

48

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

HOGARTH: Where No Man Had Gone Before ALI DONKIN, EDITOR

To be a satirist can be a dangerous game, highlighting and ridiculing the defects of the most powerful people of your era tends to lead to unpleasant repercussions, yet the cannier amongst those who aimed their work at the corrupt and powerful found they could shout their message loud, as long as they employed disassociation tactics. What could disassociate a political jibe more than a journey into science fiction?

Play-writes like Shakespeare and Webber would set their work in countries out of favour with the English court who would revel in mocking the corruption of European elites, blind to any comparison being drawn to their own. William Hogarth however, chose to look further, he imagined a more celestial source of inspiration, whilst keeping his feet firmly planted in the muck and reality of the world around him.

May 22nd 1724 and Britain is shrouded in darkness as a total solar eclipse covers parts of the country. The mass hysteria and fascination this causes become the trigger for one of Hogarth's most visionary works. Whilst Hogarth could hardly be accused of flinching from skewering elite subjects (Marriage A-la-Mode warns of marrying for money) with Royalty, Episcopacy and Law (originally painted in 1724, though later etchings were produced) he is on more dangerous ground as he aims his vitriol at the very top of society.

Hogarth therefore takes his chance to exploit the hysteria and imagine the eclipse has brought a special quality of clarity allowing the inhabitance of the Moon to be seen through a telescope. What Hogarth sees are not little green men, but a structure of powerful rulers bitterly similar to our own, with the addition of some surreal symbolic attributes.

On first peering through an old glass cabinet in our local museum at an etching of Royalty, Episcopacy and Law its curious surrealism, considering the period it was painted in, captured my attention before any consideration was given to the immense eccentric detail or its Lunar setting; elements of the surreal and ridiculous which help to distance the work from the subject's earthly counterparts. Every time I went back to the odd little picture in this cabinet of curious things I noticed more detail and had to hop onto Google and find out what it all meant. As can be said of most symbolism, each item is open for interpretation, the original painting had the addition of numbers suggesting Hogarth originally intended

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

49

“Some of the P r i n c i pa l I n h a b i ta n t s of the Moon as they Were Perfectly Discovered by a Telescope b ro u g h t to ye Greateset Perfection Since ye last Eclipse Exactly E n g r av e d from

the

O b j e c t s , whereby ye Curious may Guess at their R e l i g i o n, Manners, &c.�

50

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

to explain his intentions, but for much of his additions the artists sees no need for subtlety. The Kings head, for example is replaced by a Guinea suggesting the monarch has no substance or merit beyond his wealth and the sword wielding judge with a Gavel for a face cuts an intimidating figure towering over a pair of courtiers, implying it is strength and dominance and not fairness that are his motivators.

The central figure of the Bishop however is a little different. His head is made up of a Jewish Harp, perhaps a nod to the Hebrew origins of the church, which the English Bishops of the time were keen to shun? He sits in regal dominance in the painting's composition ,working a lever attached to a Bible which pumps money from a steeple and into a coffer emblazoned with the Bishop's coat of arms, whilst the King sits feckless on his throne lower than both Bishop and Judge, maybe a comment that the monarch is a puppet of those with greater learning. Perhaps it's better Hogarth's intentions remain a little foggy, a healthy bit of speculation is always fun!

Hogarth may only have been induced to dip his toe into Sci Fi due to an eclipse, yet none were more suited to taking that first small step. Hogarth is also considered the Godfather of sequential art, or the comic strip. A pioneer of Sci Fi and comics, a regular 16th century Geek, which is, by the way, no insult. On the contrary, Sci Fi and fantasy are now as much satirical outlets as they were in their beginnings. The reasons for using Si Fi as a satirical buffer have changed, western elites are unlikely to have you executed for attacking their principles, but if you wish to have your work funded, reach a large audience and not to be sued while doing so, distancing your work from a direct living subject is as important as ever.

Cartoonists and comic strip artists often have the freedom to react directly to political situations and real life subjects without repercussion (bar a few more extreme exceptions), humour in this case acting as a buffer, the same is often not true for writers and the film and TV industry. Swift, Orwell, Burgess and many others have used other-worldly settings to free their massage, but so too graphic novel and comic book writers like Neil Gaiman (Good Omens) , Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen) and Frank Miller (Sin City, Ronin) and series like Batman and X men are high profile examples of a prolific use of fantasy satire in sequential art forms.

Film and television are perhaps the trickiest areas to bring a hard satirical edge to. Playing to a large audience and reliant on sponsorship which is easily scared by controversy, is not an easy sell but nothing helps allay funder's fears than hiding social comment in the camouflage of special effects, action sequences and sometimes even in cyborg armer. Paul Verhoeven's Robo Cop, whilst being a wildly violent, crowd pleasing blockbuster, was underpinned by the film makers comment on crime in 1980's America. Distrust of the police's ability to control a worsening crime rate lead to deep frustration amongst the public resulting in some people taking the law into their own hands, as in the case of Bernhard Gotez who

gunned down would be muggers in 1984 just a few years before Robo Cop was released. Any comment made on incidents such as this on the big screen would be tricky, it could result in legal action from the police, so its near future setting lets the film makers off the leash to produce something audience pleasing, not just for its action and explosions but because of underlying message, which spoke to public anger with a frail legal system.

Less specific social comment too is possible through Sci Fi. Displeased with the constant victimisation of women in film the writers of Alien played on men's ability to leave horror films without a sense of violation, women being mainly put in a victim role, as Dan O'Bannon puts it in 'The Alien Saga' documentary feature “I'm not going to go after the women in the audience, I'm going to attack the men. I am going to put in every image I can think of to make the men in the audience cross their legs.� It is hard to think how this could have been achieved in a real world setting which would have been expectable to sponsors and film boards of the time for a mass audience, like Hogarth, O'Bannon found Sci Fi allows for a creative use of symbolism.

From a 1720's vision of the Moon to a 1980's take on the near future streets of Detroit, Sci Fi has provided a safety net for controversial satirical commentary. By taking us into a fantasy world, the satirist can accentuate our fears about the society we live in and expose its inequalities and defects without retribution. However, for me, the most important thing Sci Fi satire provides is pure, simple, escapism. The real world has no cops in shining armer, it has complex problems with complex solutions. Instead of looking directly at the dysfunctions of our world we are taken on a journey to a fantastical new one where viewing our demons is that little bit easier and we can live vicariously through fantastical protagonists as they rage against their troubles on our behalf. <

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

51

52

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

The Mind, Inside

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

53

The Mind, Inside

54

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

The 42’s Giorgio Bormida giorgiobormida.com

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

55

56

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

I am interested primarily in documentary photography, or what documentary photography is, or whether ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ may be, can still be classified as such.

I am interested in subverting a subject through a number of levels of point to this ongoing investigation and exploration.

Take-away trays are objects that are frequently spotted in any major metropolis. They are the consequence and the conclusion of an evening out. They are so common in Plymouth that they almost become invisible.

The remaining contents of chips or a kebab form the staple diet of many sea and urban birds (Hearing Gulls, Black Back Gulls, Rooks, Feral Pigeons and Pied Wagtails) and they are to be discovered in abundance littered throughout Union Street, the main ‘entertainment district’ of Plymouth, particularly on Saturday and Sunday Mornings.

Instead of simply photographing these boxes in-situ, I decided, – since I have never made them before and with an understanding that graphically they could be of interest – to make photograms and therefore hark back to not only one of the most primitive forms of image making, but arguably one of the most objective means of image representation.

I liked the idea that I was taking something very unnatural – a polystyrene food tray – and making images that historically – take Anna Atkins as a useful reference – were produced using ferns, or leaves for horticultural studies.

I also enjoyed, in my own mind, imagining the seagulls consciously making specific shapes with clear artist determination and outcomes, much like Matt McCormick’s film ‘The Subconscious Art Of Graffiti Removal’; a spoof, ‘serious’ film, narrated by the serious and authoritative sounding Miranda July discussing how council cleaners in America were in fact producing abstract impressionist paintings when all they were doing was blocking out tawdry scrawls and tags.

Context is of key importance to my working practice, so too engaging an audience as wide as possible.

The photograms that were produced in the darkroom on 12×16 glossy paper were then enlarged to A0 and A1 and placed upon existing posters at the Palace Theatre in Union Street.

Their somewhat scruffy and not all together considered application

TIM MILLS

deconstruction and the take-away trays are I believe a useful starting

(mainly through haste and fear of arrest) adds further levels of context and in some respects, the idea that these objects, the trays, are invisible, makes reference to the fact the Theatre is somewhat invisible and is being left to decline progressively, and it might be added, shamefully. timothymills.wordpress.com

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

57

58

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

59

Writer, Stalker, Doctor

60

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Oedipus

Rented Kitchen ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

61

Subway Hamed Dehnavi

62

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

63

TOM

64

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

M ADAMS Tom Adams is a British artist with a long career illustrating articles for Eagle, Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, John Fowles, Peter Straub, and science-fiction films for the likes of Stanley Kubrick (2001 – A Space Odyssey) and Mike Hodges (Flash Gordon) and Tobe Hooper (Life Force) as well as album covers for Lou Reed and Iron Maiden. Tribe’s editorial director Pete Davey had the pleasure of visiting Tom Adams and discussing his career over a fabulous lunch in the heart of the rural countryside of Cornwall.

Your work really seems to engage with younger audiences. How do you feel about this younger audience having discovered your work?

It’s wonderful. Being an old codger, I find it inspiring that young people like my work. You with tribe, and students in Plymouth, is only the latest example of people who’ve come to me from all over the world, young people who have wanted to interview me or tell me they like my work. And, of course, you can imagine what that does for the ego of an artist. He needs to feed on appreciation, but to be appreciated not only by his peers, but by the younger generation, is most exciting and wonderful.

What is wonderful about art today is, it’s an accumulation starting from primitive cave art, to Damien Hirst, and the great artists of the 20th century, and all the latest manifestations of installation, video, photography and all those things. So art is now a huge, manyheaded monster, which is quite difficult to cope with for someone of my generation. But I actually love it, I find it very exciting. Of course, I’m critical of a lot of what is done in the name of art. I’m slightly dubious about the artistic content of a lot of the stuff that’s much praised these days. But I’m not against experimentation and pushing the frontiers.

Painting and drawing are great, but of course art can be all sorts of things. I love all that.

Your work has a lot of dark themes, but there’s also a sense of humour in there.

Well, there’s a dark side that I’ve always enjoyed very much. I like macabre, black humour, always have done. I have a great friend who is the same age as I am, and we sometimes tell each other the most terrible things that have happened - “Ten eaten by piranha in the Amazon” and things like that – which some people might find rather disturbing, but we actually quite enjoy it. Not because we’re not sorry for the people who

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

65

are eaten by piranhas, but the whole business of horror and the dark side of life is, in fact, far more exciting than a nice tea party or crumpets on the lawn!

Despite your fascination with the macabre and dark humour, you’ve said that you don’t like it to be too upfront in your work, you like to do it subtly.

Yes. Well, if you work, as I have done, for the American market, they are very uptight about certain things: certain sexual content or something that may be a little bit risqué.

They’re very, very careful to try and stop this being published, if they can. I mean, I did one cover of a naked woman – from the rear, not terribly wicked – and I was horrified to see that they’d got a local artist to cover her bottom with a flimsy piece of cloth, because they were offended by her rear view. But that’s the sort of thing that one was

66

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

faced with American publishers. So I used to love doing something which had in it elements which I knew, if they really knew what was going on, they would reject, or somehow try to cover up in some way. And I got away with murder! I got away with some explicit content on some covers, which I enjoyed enormously.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also illustrated record covers for Lou Reed and Iron Maiden.

It was great fun doing that. Of course, I was rather inhibited by the fact that the first four had to be done in a rush, they were in a great hurry for it, and had to be done within the context of the previous covers, it had to fit in with the whole pattern of Iron Maiden covers. But I did enjoy doing it.

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

67

68

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Is there a difference between illustrating a book cover and illustrating a record cover?

I don’t think there’s an essential difference between them. The whole business about being an illustrator is that you’re working with two mediums: the literary medium and the visual medium are fused together, and that’s one of the exciting things about being an illustrator. Obviously, if you’re a so-called fine art painter, you don’t have to worry about briefs, you can do what you like. But the discipline of working with another artform, whether it’s music or literature, is that it actually inspires you to do more creative work, I think.

Does it make you feel like you want to push your boundaries and do new things?

Yes. Pushing boundaries is something I enjoy doing. As I’ve said before, I’ve got away with all sorts of rather dubious visual imagery. But pushing boundaries visually, I think all artists like to do that, it’s just a natural thing to do, to want to push yourself and do things a bit more courageously than other artists.

I was interested to discover that you come from a distinguished architectural family background. Has that played out in your work?

Yes, I think so. Three generations of architects and town planners is bound to have had an effect on me. I was brought up with that sort of thing going on all the time: grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, all in the same profession. And the discipline of those professions, architecture and town planning, I think did influence my work. The structural balance and integrity is important to me in my paintings as much as the freewheeling imagery.

You studied at Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmith’s College. Did this influence your career in any way?

Well, I did the normal progression through art school: local art school, and then London art school, and then a postgraduate at Goldsmith’s, and I enjoyed all that, it was wonderful. But of course, for a lot of people doing that, the eventual outcome is teaching, and I found that rather a daunting prospect. So, I decided to try and earn my living, and I did so just by doing anything that came along, like pub signs, illustrating magazines and things like that. But it wasn’t particularly different from any other artist’s training.

Do you think education has changed, in terms of open-mindedness? Did previous generations have more freedom than today?

Well, the great era for freedom in art was the 50s, 60s and 70s. In the 60s, people did feel very free to say and do more or less what they liked, to the great horror and fear of the politicians of the day. I think today, it’s a different kind of restriction. It’s almost as

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

69

though too much freedom has dissipated the strength of creative activity. You can do anything now and call it “art”, whereas even in the 60s, there was a discipline in the production of art which meant that however free we really were, however wild your ideas, you had to do it within the context of good drawing, knowing about the history of art and breaking the traditions, but respecting the traditions. So I do feel to a certain extent that the complete and absolute lack of tradition in modern art is worrying.

I do think we’ve suffered a great deal from the fact that very few art schools now have people who can draw and teach people how to draw. Drawing is a vital element. Of course, there are artforms that don’t have to include drawing, like photography, video art and so on. But the mainstay, the fundamental foundation of art should still be drawing, painting and sculpture, the visual expression through skill and craftsmanship.

So do you think the people who teach art should have a form of practice of their own?

Well, that’s a point of view, but I don’t entirely agree with that. I think if you’re teaching science, you have to be a scientist. If you’re teaching music, really you have to be a musician. But you don’t have to be a good practising artist to be able to teach art, or at least to direct people in the right way to do good work. And you can criticise without necessarily being a good practitioner. So there is a difference.

Do you think that criticism is a good thing in art? And do you take an interest in criticism of your work?

Oh yes. I think it’s very important to react to criticism. In fact, it would be awful to work in a bubble, thinking that nobody’s going to see your work and nobody’s going to criticise it. It’s actually good for people to look at your work and either like it or dislike it. Obviously, I respect criticism when it’s founded upon knowledge and understanding, but I certainly don’t think that everybody who looks at my work should immediately like it just because it’s my work. They have a perfect right to criticise it, but hopefully from a position of knowledge and understanding.

Does having people looking at or assessing your work help you to create new ideas?

I think everything can be an input into new ideas. All sorts of things can happen. You meet people, you talk about things, and it isn’t just about art. I mean, all sorts of things can happen that can inspire you to do new work. But it’s important. Criticism is part of the pattern of life for an artist.

70

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

71

Would you like to talk about some of the book covers you’ve illustrated, for writers like John Fowles, for example?

Well, Jonathan Cape is a wonderful publisher, and published all of John Fowles’ books. I didn’t know John Fowles until I did the cover for his first book, The Collector, but it turned out to be a very fruitful relationship, because I then went on to do covers for The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman and one or two other things for him, and I got to know him. It was a marvellous thing to know somebody within a different artform, because although he wasn’t an artist himself in the visual arts, he was an amazingly good art critic. He was very, very knowledgeable about art – Greek art, Italian art and English art – and so I found his opinions very stimulating. And he frequently criticised me! For instance, he disapproved entirely of me doing my Mary Kingsley paintings. He thought I was wasting my time doing that, and that I should not get diverted into illustrating Victorian explorers’ adventures in the Congo. I think he was wrong about that, I think that produced some good paintings, but he thought it was not a good idea.

I was just wondering if you’d like to talk for a moment about Mary Kingsley, who seems to be something of an inspiration?

Well, she was incredible. Having lost her parents, she was free to do what she wanted, so she began to explore in West Africa, mostly in Gabon and Congo. She was brought up as a very well-behaved Victorian lady, but at the age of thirty, she was able to go into the African jungle and communicate, on a very basic level, with the Fang cannibals – and they really were cannibals. But they found in her a fellow spirit, someone who was completely uninhibited, not afraid to talk about all sorts of different things. What she did was to break from the British colonial people of the day. She actually quarrelled with quite a lot of government and colonial people who despised the cannibals. But she didn’t, she loved them, and she enjoyed communicating with them, staying in their villages, sharing in their lifestyle, wading through swamps and meeting wild animals.

She once had a situation where she was faced with a large leopard. They met face to face. She had a parasol, and instead of running or panicking, she simply walked straight up to this creature, tapped him on the nose and said, “Off with you!” And of course, he did, he just turned around and walked away, because she wasn’t afraid and stood up to him.

The Victorian theme seems to have been quite a big influence in your work.

Yes. Well, I suppose being the age I am, I’m kind of an inheritor of a Victorian tradition.

I mean, my father was a Victorian. My mother too, of course. I was brought up by Victorians, so it’s inevitable that some of the ideas and traditions of Victorians influence my work. And maybe the work ethic, the traditional respect for craftsmanship, is part of it. It comes from a certain Victorian ethic which now, of course, is completely gone.

72

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

73

74

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

75

In someone of my generation, brought up on reading Dickens and Trollope and Thackeray and so on, there is a Victorian theme running through my life as a child and growing up. I suppose that’s continued through my adult life as well.

Your passion for writing and reading also seems to come through in your work.

Yes, perfectly true. Books have been my passion all my life. I read fluently at the age of four, I started collecting books from the age of about six onwards and I came from a family where reading was a perfectly natural thing; my father used to read Dickens to me at night. And really, I couldn’t live without books. In some ways it’s not a good thing, because if you’re not careful, you can start living in the world of literature instead of in real life, and it can be dangerous! But books are fundamental to my life. I’m married to an author. It’s all part of a pattern.

And in the 60s you were involved in a gallery in London.

Yes, I got involved with people who were poets and painters and so on, and so I did get involved in that side of things. I got to know the Liverpool Poets, people like Brian Patten and Roger McGough, and it was very important, that element. It was a distraction in some ways, I found it did actually start to interfere with my life as an artist. It meant getting into financial hot water sometimes, but it was nevertheless a very important part of my life in those days, getting involved with poets and musicians.

You did some work for Jimi Hendrix as well?

I did something called the Arts Lab, which was a performance area where people like Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine and Pink Floyd were performing, so I did get involved in that scene. I didn’t do any covers for Jimi Hendrix or anything like that, but I got to know him, and I still have a scarf of his. I can’t tell you the number of women who have offered to go to bed with me if I would give them the Jimi Hendrix scarf!

Looking at your own work, how would you describe it, and how would you describe yourself?

I think I’d describe myself as a down-to-earth, hard working painter who is deeply involved with literature and the word, probably to the detriment of my work, because if I hadn’t been so involved with literature, I might have been a more successful painter. If I had been a little more adventurous in just going out there and just painting things, rather than getting attached to literature. I suppose what I’m saying is that, if I had been a little more single-minded about doing nothing but painting, instead of getting involved with different artforms, with poetry, with writers, with music, then maybe my painting would have become just that much more... my paintings have been considered in relationship with the work they’ve illustrated, instead of in their own right as paintings. It’s silly, of course, they should be considered as paintings in their own right, but you can’t get away from the fact that they’re inspired by other artforms.

76

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

77

So you’re saying you don’t really see the difference between, say, a painting, an album cover or a comic, in terms of genre?

I think artificial barriers between artforms is a mistake. I think people can be inspired by music, we can be inspired by literature, we can be inspired by landscape or we can be inspired by a person. It all can be part of the grist to the mill of somebody who is making a work of art.

It all comes back to what’s bad and good. Sometimes it’s very obvious what is bad art, but of course there are lots of cases where what would have been considered bad art once, is considered to be good art now. Primitive artists can be just as good as the more traditionally trained artist. That’s simply a matter of luck – somebody is born with this natural ability to produce a work of art without any training at all. It’s a rare phenomenon. But generally speaking, there is only good art and bad art, and there’s a hell of a lot of bad art at the moment.

For more information visit: tomadamsuncovered.co.uk Interview: Peter Davey Transcription: Glyn Davies

78

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

79

80

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

81

Nativiety 82

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

83

Nativite

84

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

Delierium Casajordi  Bousquet casajordi.blogspot.co.uk

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

85

Becky Dodman Always on the look out for people who take a different approach to their work, tribe were delighted to see the fanastic concept images of designer Becky Dodman

86

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

The images here are a collection of conceptual collages for my forthcoming 2013 knit collection (due end of September). Inspiration has been drawn from Wendell Gladstone, a painter who creates hallucinatory, intricate and jigsaw-puzzle type paintings of pure colour.

My aim through this knit collection is to capture the essence of his paintings to produce visually absorbing one of knit pieces.

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

87

88

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

89

90

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

91

92

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

I am using both locally processed, Modbury, wool that I hand dye, in combination with commercially available yarns. While there is an emphasis on the use of colour, there will also be explorations in to textural knitting to produce knit garments that are tactile as well as visually volatile.

I work in a purely experimental way working organically to produce the final knit garments, using these images as inspiration as I work in my studio.

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

93

94

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

beckydodman.wordpress.com

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

95

N E I L C R AV E R

96

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

97

98

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

99

100

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

101

102

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

103

104

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

105

106

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

art

J Freedman

ISSUE 7 TRIBE MAGAZINE

107

108

TRIBE MAGAZINE ISSUE 7

tribesubmit@gmail.com

submit work

tribequery@gmail.com

say hello